Galvanic battery



(No Model.)

1". H. ROOT.

GALVANIG BATTERY.

Patented NOV. 20 1888.

JFwenYZ-Z: ymed N 4 02% 1 652% 9 f w a W UNITED STATES PATENT Orrica.

FRANCIS n. ROOT, or CHICAGO,- iLtinois, ASSIGNOR TO THE ROOT ELEC- TRIO GAS LIGHTING COMPANY, or rumors.

GALVANIC BATTERY.

v I I S PECIPICATI0N forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,123. dated November 20; 1888.

I Application filed November 2, 1887. Serial No. 254,072. {No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. Roo'r,acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Galvanic Batteries, of which the following is a specification.

In carrying out my invention I provide in a batterycell a chloride of -silver electrode and a zinc electrode, the former constituting the negative and the latter the positive element. These electrodes are immersed in an exciting medium consisting of a gclatine solution charged with muriate of ammonia and reduced to about the consistency of a thick paste. The

use of gelatine as a-vehiele for holding the muriatc of ammonia in a battery containing a chloride of-silvcr electrode involves the fol lowing several advantages,-to wit: The-presence of a chloride-of-silver electrode renders the battery so sensitive and liable to short circuiting that the use of chloride of silver in a small battery containing an exciting medium in afiuld condition is impracticable.

Theemploymcnt of the thickened exciting medium herein present serves to hold against the positive electrode the particles of oxide which form thereon, and likewise serves to hold against the negativeclectrode the particles of silver resulting fronrthe change of chloride ofsilver to pure silver,'which takes place during the working of the'bat-tery. The density'of I such thickened exciting medium oppose's'therefore, a desirable resistance to any shifting about within the cell of particles from the electrodes,

"wherebyparticles from one electrode will be "prevented from extending over to the other. I electrode, and in like manner particles from .the two electrodes will beprevented from meet ing.; ,This feature also renders it practicable .to employ a powerful excitant in an exceed- *ingly small chloridc-of-si'l-ver battery without danger of local action, and hence admits of Itheprovision ofa hig'hly-efiicient battery which isfree from polarization and capable of pro-- ducingapractically steady and uniform current ifthroughoutfits entire life, and which can be brought within a com'passso small as to render itcapable'of use insituations where thepresence of a battery of ordinary size would boa matter of impossibility. The gelatine solution thus charged with muriate of ammonia will be free from fermentation, although I may, as an additional safeguard against fermentation, prepare the gelatine from seamoss. As a further incident to the employment of the exciting medium thus thickened by .gelatine to a pasty condition, evaporation as well as fermentation is avoided, the electrodes held apart and in determinate positions, and a battery provided which can be tipped over without loss of the excitant.

As a further and absolute safeguard against local action, I provide in connection with the zinc and chloride-of-silvcr clectrodesimmersed in a gelati nc solution charged with muriate of ammonia, a porous cup or cylinder arranged intermediate of the two electrodes and likewise immersed or embedded in the thickened forpreventin'g thcsalts from creeping out from the cell, I close the cclh with a porous stopper or cork saturated with oil and provided'with a vent consisting of a glass or other analogous tube,which extends centrally through the oiled stopper and enters an air-space left between the immersed electrodes and the closed top of the cell. The salts will not creep along the oiled surface of the stopper, and by locating thevent at the center of the latter all possibility of the salts finding their way out of the cellwill be avoided.

, Other details of construction tending to the general efficiency of the battery will be hereinafter'set forth. A

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vet I ammonia or its equivalent thickened by gelatine to a pasty condition and in quantity to partially fill the battery-cell B. The block or stick 0 of chloride of silver, which forms the as'in Fig. 4,'so as to provide .50 V centrally and extend a negative electrode, is suspended centrally within the cell and entirely immersed within the thickened exciting medium. The. wire 0' from the chloride-of-silver electrode is carried out through the closed top of the cell,andwill in practice be a silver wire or tween the chloride-of-silverelcctrode and the closed top of the cell should be enveloped by an insulating covering or coating, C". The chloride-of-silver electrode stands centrally within a porouscup, 1), consisting of a cylindric shell,which is set wiseimmersed in the thickened exciting me dium.

in the thickened exciting medium, and herein held from all contact with the porous cup by reason of the density of the mass. The porous cup stands within the zinc electrode E, which consists of a zinc cylinder, likewise set within thecell and immersed in the thickened excitmg medium. The wire E from the,zinc electrode is, like the wire from the chloride-of-silver electrode, either a silver or silver-plated wire insulated along its length between the electrode and the closed top of the cell by some suitable insulating envelope or covering, E.

The zinc electrode is preferably perforated,

bubbles of hydrogen gas as may form along the surface of thecylinder and tend to force the exciting medium away from the same. Wheredesirable, the thickened exciting medium shown filled into the space between the jar and the outer side of the zinc cylinder can be omitted, so that in case of"a n undue accumulation of such gas it can pass through the perforations of thezinc cylinder into a clearspace between the latter and thejar; and thence upinto the space b above the immersed electrodes. 'The cell is closed at the top bya porous stopper or cork, F, understood to'be saturated with oil. This feature of an oiled stepper in the foregoand in order to avoid all perils provided with a" v vent consisting of a shorttube, G, arranged to pierce the stopper wardly into the air-space b.

By way. of further distinguishing nay-improvementit may be observed that it has heretofore beenproposed toemploy in 'a batteryan' exciting-fluid thickened to the'eonsistehcylof jelly *bygelatine,

"ffj'to'assist the action of the exciting-fluid.

silver-plated wire, which for the portion of its-length be-' within the cell and likeQ The chloride-of-silver electrode is immersed vents for such ing or other suitable galvanic. battery will prevent the salts-from creeping along the same,

possibility of their exit through the necessary air-vent the stopshort distance downcorn-starch, corn mealytcr like matter capable of fermentation supposed In my specification and claims, so far as relates to the use of gelatine, I desire to be understood as excluding the idea of fermentation, and as regards the positive'and negative elements to further restrict myself to the combination, with the gelatine, of chloride of silver and zinc, or an equivalent for zinc, it beinga matter of improvement in small galvanic cells to combine as elements zinc and chlorideof-silver electrodes and gelatine saturated with muriate of ammonia, or its equivalent, which combination, so 'far as. I am aware, is novel, although chlorideof silver batteries," as they are called, are old and well-known mat ters. 1

What I claim as my invention-le 1. The combination,substantially-as herein described, inagalvanic cell of zinc and chic-- -ride-'ofsilver electrode's,*a porous ciup inter mediate of said electrodes, and an exciting medium thickened to the consistency of paste and, forming within, the cell a pasty' wherein theelectrodes and the porous cup are immersed, forthe purpose set forth.

2. The combination, substantially herein:

described, in a galvanic cell, of zinc and chloride-of-silver electrodes, a'porousxcup inter vening between the two electrodes, and an ex citing mediumconsisting of a gelatine' solu'/ tion' charged withmuriate of ammonia" and,

reduced to the consistency-of paste, saidelec trodes and porous cup, being all immersed in said thickened ex'citing} medium, for the pur-v pose described.

3. The combination, substantially] as 'asscribed, in a galvaniccell, of the centrally-anrangedehloride-of-silverelectrode, the cylin dric zinc electrode, the

between said. electrodes, and a thickened exciting-medium wherein the electrodes 'areembedded, for the purpose described.

porous cup intervening t. A galvanic cell provided with a stopper saturated with oil to provide the stopper with i an oiled surface for preventing the salts from creeping along the same,- as described. j

5. .A galvanic cell provided with and closed by a stopper saturated with oil to provide withinthe cell an exposure of v oiled stopper surface, and-having a tubular vent extendinginte'rior'of the cell, substantially as described.

6'. In a battery-celka perforated cylindric citing medium, substantially as described I r A IS. 0011; ?'.'1'Witresses: i

' CHAS. G. Pnen, L. S. Loca s.-

centrally through the stopper and entering the.

zinc electrode combined'with a thickened ex- 

